In which we talk about economists

I subscribe to the NBER Digest, which is a way to find out about interesting papers in economics without [shudder] having to read them. The latest contained two studies I found of passing interest. One found that calorie posting in Starbucks reduced customers' calorie intake - but by a whopping 15 calories. (To be fair, consumers consuming the highest amount dropped their consumption by the largest percent.) Another found that, shockingly, bottle deposit laws increased recycling. But I was still disheartened to know that only 8.3 out of 10 bottles were recycled where there are deposits.